Sufferers have memory loss greater than expected for their age and it is an indicator for increased risk of Alzheimer’s.

The scientists, from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, asked 84 people aged 55 and older to take varying doses of Levetiracetam.

All the participants were then given various tests designed to assess their memory and the onset of the disease.

They were also given MRI scans aimed at assessing their brain activity while they carried out the memory tests.

We would like to see further studies to test whether this drug can reduce the likelihood of progressing to dementia

Dr James Pickett, of Research at Alzheimer’s Society

They found low doses of the drug not only improved memory performance but also reduced the overactivity often seen in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers.

The study, published in the journal NeuroImage: Clinical, revealed that it may be possible to start using the drug as a way to delay the progression of the disease.

Professor Michela Gallagher, the study’s lead author, now hopes the new drug approach will be tested in a large-scale, longer-term clinical trial.

She said: “What we want to discover now is whether treatment over a longer time will prevent further cognitive decline and delay or stop progression to Alzheimer’s dementia.”

Dr James Pickett, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “The re-purposing of existing drugs for other conditions to see if they can treat people with dementia is an innovative approach that Alzheimer’s Society strongly supports.

“We would like to see further studies to test whether this drug can reduce the likelihood of progressing to dementia.”

The illness commonly occurs in those in their mid to late 50s.

There are 830,000 sufferers in the UK and the disease costs the economy £23billion a year.